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PES welcomes Commission proposals for EMU

06/12/2017

The Party of European Socialists welcomes the proposals for the development of the EMU presented today by the European Commission as an important step towards completing the Monetary Union.

Last weekend, at the Council of the PES in Lisbon, PES parties set out in a strong resolution a vision for a Eurozone that is based on growth, employment, investment, democracy and solidarity.

The resolution called for:

Revised and more flexible fiscal rules to enable investment in sustainable development

Completion of the banking union with protection for citizens’ deposits in banks

A Eurozone budget for tackling both symmetric and asymmetric shocks

The transformation of the European Stability Mechanism into a European Monetary Fund that promotes both solidarity and stability

Full democratic accountability in economic decision-making, greater economic and social convergence

We are pleased that the Commission’s proposals contribute to these goals. This reform process must make the Eurozone more united, more growth-friendly and more democratic.

It must end dysfunctions that were evident in the crisis.

PES President Sergei Stanishev said:

"The Commission’s package offers a set of steps to move the EMU forward and contribute substantially to the goals that Socialists have set. I want to welcome in particular the work of Commissioner Pierre Moscovici.

"The complementary proposal to turn the ESM into a European Monetary Fund is positive. The EMF will be directed at strengthening our response to crises and providing a backstop to the banking union. However, the EMF cannot be a tool for reinforcing the austerity and intergovernmental politics of the crisis. It must be based on the community method.

"We also welcome proposals to make Eurozone governance more democratic and efficient, including by creating a Eurozone Finance Minister. It is fundamental for the good democratic functioning of Europe that institutions such as the Eurogroup be accountable to the European Parliament.

"The call for a Eurozone budget was among our priorities. I insist that it must be a real budget. A budget that relies only on loans cannot perform the stabilising function that we badly need.

"We believe that the time to act is now, and that the process of reform needs to emphasize on achieving stronger upward convergence and more cohesion in Europe. We now call on Eurozone governments to take immediate concrete action to deepen the Economic and Monetary Union, starting with the Eurozone Summit on December 14."